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Toiletries
Most people carry way too much stuff in their toiletry bag. If you
can't fit your toiletries into one ziploc sandwich bag, you've got too
much stuff. I'm not kidding. There are two ways to succeed in paring down
your toiletries. The first is to eliminate all items you don't need. Women--do
you REALLY need three different tubes of hand lotion, face cream and night
conditioner? Men--do you REALLY need a bottle of aftershave as well as
cologne? The second is to use miniature sized containers of everything
you use. If you follow these two rules of thumb, you'll be in great shape.
What to carry your toiletries in
Most people will want something a tad sturdier than a ziploc bag (although
the freezer bags are pretty hefty). The standard toiletry bag looks like
it would fit in a small shoebox. It usually has one zipper on top across
the middle. You might remember these as "shaving kits." Containers
fit sideways easily in these. About the only problem is that they can easily
get too round, and may take up extra room in your carry-on.
Women are probably more used to the large vanity cases that look like
stand-up suitcases. These are way too large for traveliters. Look instead
towards using one of the smaller, flat, soft-sided toiletry bags you find
at the cosmetics counter, with one single zipper across the top. These
usually come in many sizes and in various fabrics and materials. The transparent
vinyl kits are easy to see through.
Eagle Creek and Outdoor Research produce small unisex zippered sacks
that I like for my toiletry kit. They come in different sizes and colors,
with one zipper across the top. Eagle Creek has a newer version of its
"Pac-It Sack" that includes its own ziploc vinyl bag inside,
to keep wet stuff in.
Another great toiletry kit is made to hold your absorbent "Packtowl"
towel (available in camping stores and through Magellan's and TravelSmith).
These are like the zippered sacks, but they have a little handle, and are
made of mesh fabric, so you can dry your towel easily. A good way to carry
both your Packtowl and your toiletries together, and particularly handy
if you are staying at a hostel or pension with a common bathroom.
If your toiletry kit is not waterproofed, take some 3M ScotchGuard
to it. This will protect your toiletries if your kit drops into a full
sink, or you are staying in a hostel or pension that has no shower curtains
(or you have to keep the kit in your shower stall for security reasons).
In fact, take your ScotchGuard and spray the outside of your travelpack
while you're at it. You won't have to worry as much if you get rained on
that way.
Zip-Lock Baggies: Traveling on the cheap or don't want to carry even
the extra few ounces a toiletry kit would take up? Use a plastic zip-lock
bag instead! I have never really encouraged use of these, because I am
never sure the openings are totally sealed.
While there is a brand that "changes color" to indicate that
a bag is zipped (one side is yellow, the other blue--zipped together the
color turns green), I have recently discovered a wonderful zip-lock bag
that I can ALMOST heartily recommend (and I say ALMOST because I wish they
made a super-extra heavy-duty version with thicker plastic). That model
is the new Hefty brand "OneZip" bag. These bags are zip-locked
with an actual plastic zipper that rides along the lip. The only difference
between a OneZip and a real zipper is that a real zipper has cogged teeth,
whereas the OneZip seams are smooth.
I have inflated these OneZip bags and sat on them. I'm actually going
to try an experiment next time by inflating it up like a lower-back pillow
when I fly. The OneZips come in two sizes: Quart, and Gallon. They also
come in regular, and freezer-bag styles. The latter is tough enough to
hold your toiletries, and for most people, the quart-size bag should be
more than adequate to store everything. You may want to use the gallon
sizes to store underwear or dirty clothing, though. An additional benefit
with these OneZips is that you can easily open and close them even if your
hands are wet, or you are wearing gloves.
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